[Perry County frontier series (Reading Order) 08] • Tim Murphy, Rifleman

Tim Murphy may be our young nation's earliest recognized hero.

Murphy was seized by Seneca Tribesmen during his infancy and traded to the Huron. He was renamed and educated by Sir William Johnson, a British colonial officer. Freed during the prisoner exchange of 1764, Murphy discovered his superior ability with a Pennsylvania longrifle. Still a youth, he turned to frontier marksmanship competitions to provide a challenging, if tenous, livelihood.

Murphy attained national prominence during our Revolutionary War while fighting in major battles, and by shooting a British General Officer during the Battle of Saratoga at a range so distant that the shot was believed by others to be impossible.

An early volunteer in the Pennsylvania militia, Tim Murphy served valiantly in rifle companies including the justly-famed Daniel Morgan's Riflemen.

This is Murphy's story.